He...
by Matt Locke
Summary: A yaoi fic taking place before the opening of FF8-Please R+R. IT'S FINALLY DONE!
1. Chapter 1: Surprise

He...  
by Matt Locke  
  
OK, this is a little disclaimer. These characters, they aren't mine. All of them belong to Squaresoft, and I'm just, ahem, borrowing them for the purpose of this story. But, if you want to do anything with this story besides read it, contact me. morpheus_draven@yahoo.com is the address.  
OK, now for another slight disclaimer. For those of you who don't know what yaoi means, it is the Japanese for a relationship between a man and another man. Now, the reason why this fic is only rated R is because it doesn't go into detail-it isn't a lemon fic, or one with a lot of gratuitous sex. It is rated R because there are some people who still live in the stone age about these type of social issues, and rating it anything less would get me flamed to hell. I've thought about the idea in this story for awhile, and this is what I came up with. OK, now that that's out of the way, enjoy it. R+R, please, as always.  
  
  
  
"Hey. Hey! Squall, wake up!"  
Zell's voice pierced through the last pleasant dreams that Squall was enjoying.  
"Squall, wake up! You're going to be late!"  
That got his attention. Squall stumbled out of bed, fumbling for his clothes. He had always liked to be prompt, so any mention of being late was reason enough for him to get up.   
"C'mon, boy. Let's get you to the cafeteria. You really need to start getting to bed sooner."  
"Yeah, yeah I know," Squall said, avoiding the parenting gaze of Zell from across the room. "Just get me a cup of coffee and I'll be set."  
" You and that coffee-man, how could one person be so obsessed?"  
"Nobody ever asks about you and the damn hot dogs, so leave me and my caffeine alone."  
Zell almost drooled at the mention of the cafeteria's hot dogs.  
"See?"  
"Alright, you win. But still, hurry up. There's supposed to be a big announcement after breakfast."  
Zell and Squall walked into the cafeteria side by side. There, through the throngs of trainees and instructors, was Seifer. Zell shuddered at the sight.  
"Can we, um, sit over here?"  
"Why?"  
"Why not!" Zell half dragged Squall to a nearby table before Seifer noticed the two of them.  
"OK, now that we've got this table that you so desperately wanted, let's go get something to eat." Zell moaned, the possibility of a day without seeing Seifer fading in his mind.  
"Ugh. I don't feel so good. Can you just bring me something back?" Squall suspected something fishy, but didn't say a word.  
"Sure. Anything in particular?"  
"I trust you."  
Squall got up from the table and grabbed two trays, before getting in line. After waiting for an eternity behind two trainees who just couldn't make up their minds, Squall took his pick. First order of business, coffee. Squall reached for the largest cup there was-about half the size of his gunblade- and filled it to the brim. Just the smell awakened him, and he moved quicker through the line, grabbing some assorted prepackaged breakfast food and dumping it on his tray. As he moved back towards his and Zell's table, he noticed the reason why Zell had wanted so badly to stay there: Seifer. Squall glared coldly for an instant at his rival, but stopped when Seifer winked back at him. He's so damn hard to read, Squall thought. Well, that's no concern of mine now. As he arrived at the table, he tossed some of the food unceremoniously at Zell, and they ate their breakfast in complete silence.   
As they were finishing up, an announcement came up over the Balamb Garden loudspeaker:  
"Important notice to all students. There will be two expeditions led today. The first is to the Fire Cave-for magic training. This expedition is to be led by Raijin, Fujin, and Zell Dincht."  
Zell breathed visibly, obviously relieved that he wasn't forced into any contact with Seifer.  
"The second expedition is for general weapons training, and it will be at the South Beach. It will be led by Seifer Almasy and Squall Leonhart. Thank you, and have a nice day-this is Headmaster Cid."  
Squall remained calm and cool as usual-on the outside. On the inside he was a boiling pot of emotions-all of them negative, and all of them directed towards Seifer. But, rules were rules-and Headmaster Cid had the last word. Squall got up and went back to his dorm room to get his gunblade and his Jacket.   
When he had fully gotten ready-adjusting all three of his belts, and lacing up his boots to about the tightest possible, he headed outside. Right outside of the gates was the majority of the group that had signed up, and of course, Seifer, already starting off wrong.  
"...And you know what else I heard about Instructor Trepe?" The enthusiastic listeners of the group waited for an answer from Seifer, but Squall cut him off.  
"Cut it, Seifer. Nobody wants to hear about your daydreams about the instructor." That got a few laughs from the group, but Seifer managed to keep his cool.  
"Oh, please! Like you haven't thought the same!" How did he know, Squall thought.   
"It doesn't matter whether or not I have, it's just about whether it's appropriate. The last thing you want hanging over your head is one of your students getting their asses kicked by Instructor Trepe because they're repeating what you said."  
"Fair enough. Alright, let's get going, then."  
Seifer led the way out of Garden and towards the South Beach, keeping his lead all throughout the hike there. Squall carried up the rear, and he took the opportunity to keep to himself, lost in his own thoughts. Finally, they drifted to Seifer. I wonder what he's all about, he thought. A gust of wind blew, signaling the group's nearness to the ocean. The wind blew Seifer's trenchcoat up and over his head, and a part of his shirt with it. Whoa! thought Squall, staring at Seifer's muscular back. How can I hate that? Is it because I'm jealous? Or is it something else...   
They reached the beaches shortly afterwards, and Seifer signaled Squall with a typical SeeD hand motion, although Squall was too lost in thought to recognize it. The students all put their things down, and sat, watching the two alienated group leaders. Squall stood with his back to the ocean, one hand absentmindedly fingering the pendant on his chest as he stared at the crashing waves. His gunblade was staked into the ground nearby, but he didn't pay attention. Perhaps that was why it was only the screams of the students that brought him back to attention, because when he turned, he saw Seifer running towards him, gunblade raised overhead...  



	2. Chapter 2: Changes

The charging Seifer certainly did catch Squall off guard, but he reacted quickly and leaped to the side just as Seifer brought his gunblade down and fired off a blast into the ground. In midair, Squall grabbed his gunblade staked into the nearby ground and brought it up into a ready position. Seifer wasted no time in attacking again, and although the flurry of blows confused Squall, he wasn't about to ask questions in the middle of a battle. Squall raised his gunblade horizontally to defend the second overhand blow from Seifer, and although he succeeded in that, the force of the blow and the resulting lock of the two blades sent Squall sliding backwards in the sand. Finally, the force from Seifer was too great, and Squall fell to the ground, instinctively covering his head. He waited for the finishing blow from the rogue Seifer, but it never came. In it's stead was Seifer's gloved hand, helping Squall up from the sand.  
"Never, ever let your guard down," Seifer said to the crowd of stunned trainees. Squall had a novel's worth of expletives to call Seifer, when he realized that the hand signal that Seifer had flashed him earlier meant to be prepared for an attack. It was typical SeeD procedure, and Squall had forgotten it. Seifer continued:  
"During this session, you are going to fight like you absolutely mean it. Fight as if your sparring partner was, say, a Galbadia Garden student, or something like that." That got a reaction from the group of students, and they immediately began to break up into pairs to begin training.   
"Come on, Leonhart. We don't want to set a bad example by just sitting around idly."  
"I guess you're right." Squall stood up, again keeping his emotions in check. As much as he wanted to do to Seifer to pay him back from the surprise attack, he had to remain professional about it. It was the only way to become a SeeD, after all. Both men stood with their gunblades at the ready, but this time, it was Squall who struck first. Seifer deftly parried the blow sideways, and returned with an attack of his own. The exchange of blades continued for awhile between the two, just as attacks were exchanged between the trainees. Squall was getting tired, though, and was about to pack up the expedition and head back to Garden.  
"Hey Seifer. Wanna head out?" On the other side of the clash of gunblades, Seifer shook his head no. Damn, Squall thought. He's tireless!   
"Then, at least, do you wanna rest for awhile? I'm getting tired." Instead of saying anything, Seifer simply put his gunblade down, and sat in the sand. Squall followed suite, but not before announcing the break to the students.  
"Alright, you guys. Take a quick break. We'll resume sparring in a few minutes." The group all put their weapons down and sat in the sand. Squall could hear a few snippets of conversation being carried on the wind, but nothing of importance-mainly news of what was going on at Garden. A few minutes passed, but Squall hardly noticed, as he again found himself lost in his thoughts. Seifer took the initiative and stood up:  
"OK. Now we're going to practice weaponless training. I know only a few of you are specialists in that type of combat, but it's still a good skill to have, especially if you're caught without your weapons-kind of like how Leonhart was during his surprise attack."  
A rustle of laughter could be heard through the crowd, but Squall still stood, keeping his anger in check. He picked up where Seifer left off, trying to keep his mind off of Seifer's insults:  
"I'm sure you all know at least the basics of hand to hand combat, but what if you're caught against armed opponents? The last thing you want to do is stand still and be gunned down like a beached Fastitolacon, so you want to keep moving. Seifer and I are going to demonstrate some techniques to keep you as small a target as possible, and to efficiently take out an armed target at close range. But for Seifer, it's just going to be training to 'introduce' himself to a woman before she can see his face. Right, Seifer?" Seifer clearly reddened at this remark, and it wasn't because of the heat of the sun. Squall continued:  
"Now, Seifer is going to demonstrate this technique to you all. It's a simple tackle, taking the target down at the midsection and effectively knocking the wind out of them, leaving you in a position to arm yourself with whatever they have. If you move fast enough-"  
All at once, Seifer slammed into the midsection of Squall, picking him up and carrying him down several meters on the beach. One of the students screamed, and there was a general uproar from the students as they began to run for garden to get help. Only a few remained, watching Seifer rain down what appeared to be punches on Squall's face. It was only a matter of time before they too ran back to Garden to alert the instructors of what had happened.  
But what really did happen? That was the thought that traveled through Squall's head many times. Sure, Seifer had effectively speared Squall and pushed him far across the beach. And sure, it had hurt like hell. But the point where the students started screaming and running for the garden was where it got confusing. Seifer was half straddled across Squall and was slamming his fists as hard as he could into the sand next to Squall's head. Seifer stopped when he was sure all of the students were gone, and then smiled at Squall.  
"What the hell is this, Seifer? Some kind of a-"  
"Shhhhh," Seifer said, tracing his fingers across Squall's lips. Squall almost instantly relaxed, feeling a strange comfort from the touch of his rival. What...what is this? Why do I feel this way all of the sudden? he thought as Seifer began caressing his face.  
"Seifer?"  
"What is it?"  
"Why?" Seifer thought a bit about the question, but decided to keep Squall in the dark for a while. He smiled again at Squall and lay down on the sand. Squall repeated the question.  
"Why, Seifer?"  
"Just relax, Squall. You're way too uptight. Just enjoy the ocean with me." Squall sat up and then leaned back on his hands, staring out at the lull and crash of the waves against the shore. He felt something on his lap, and found that it was Seifer resting his head against Squall's thigh. He felt strangely at home, and moved one of his hands to Seifer's head, rustling his hair. They stayed that way for what seemed an eternity, and finally Seifer rolled his head over and saw the silhouette of Quistis Trepe coming over the first hill of sand.   



	3. Chapter 3: Understand

Seifer instantly got up upon seeing the shadow of Quistis at the edge of the beach. He began yelling at Squall at the top of his lungs, but as they weren't yet visible to her, he gave Squall a little wink so that he would catch on. Squall began yelling back at an equal volume, so that Quistis would think they were at least arguing, if not fighting.  
"What the hell was that, Squall? What a way to direct yourself in front of the trainees!"  
"Me?!? Of all people, you were the one that attacked me without even telling me! How's that for discipline, Seifer?" They pretended as if it was their first sighting of Quistis, and acted accordingly.   
"Instructor," Squall said. He was inwardly laughing, but as always, keeping his cool on the outside.  
"What the hell is going on?" Quistis said. "I receive half-babbled reports from students who ran back on their own from this training expedition, saying that you two began beating the hell out of each other, and here I am. Now all I see is you two arguing, both without a scratch, and I can easily expect that you both are hiding something. Will you tell me what it is?" Seifer and Squall were both surprised at this outburst from the usually calm and collected instructor, but both remained silent for awhile.  
"Well?" Quistis pried further. Finally, Seifer spoke up.  
"It's not like you to flip out like this, Quistis. Squall and I got into a fight-is that too hard to believe?"  
"No," Quistis said, "but from what I heard-"  
"What you heard is probably a vast distortion of the truth. You know, these are the same trainees who think that the Fire Cavern is the lair of the bogey man," Seifer shot back.  
"Well, I can't-I don't know." Quistis turned and began to walk off, but then she stopped.  
"Can you at least tell me the truth? I know what you're telling me isn't the truth, and I can promise to keep it between us." Seifer looked at Squall and then back at Quistis.  
"Seifer and I...well..." Squall struggled to get out exactly the words, but Quistis understood. She nodded to show this, and turned without a word, walking back towards Garden. Squall and Seifer waited for a while, and then walked back to Garden a good distance behind her.  
************  
Squall awoke the next morning, not of his own accord, but to a face. He was expecting Zell to give him a lecture about his caffeine intake, but instead of Zell's tattooed face, he was greeted with the face of Seifer. He thought that the happenings of the previous day were nothing more then a dream, and so he was surprised to see the one proof he needed that they weren't merely a figment of his imagination: Seifer in close proximity to him without aggression. Regardless, he scrambled back and almost hit his head on the front board of his bed.  
"Relax, Squall. I wasn't kidding when I said you were too uptight yesterday."  
"What...what time is it?" Squall asked, extremely confused.  
"We've got about an hour before official wake-up," Seifer said, "and I figured we could go off to the beach. Saves us staging another impromptu diversion again, doesn't it?" Squall rubbed his abs, still sore from where Seifer had speared him the day before, and he agreed.   
"You argue a hard case. Okay, just wait for me to get dressed." Seifer backed up and sat right on the edge of Zell's bed, the oblivious sleeping blonde not knowing that the one person he hated most was sitting right next to him. Squall finished his ensemble by pulling on his leather jacket, and tossing his hair out of his eyes.  
"A little vain, aren't we?" Seifer teased.  
"You should talk, Mr. Trench Coat," Squall fired back.  
"Are you just mad because you haven't had your morning coffee?" Squall cringed at the thought of not having his caffeine fix of the morning, but he actually didn't feel as if he needed it-perhaps for the first time in his life since he had hit puberty-and so he let the comment slide.   
It was early enough in the morning that even the ever-rigid guards for the cafeteria and the library were asleep-although they still stood in a guarding position. It wasn't like anyone would be able to tell the difference, whether they were asleep or awake. Talk about whipped, Squall thought. They made their way across the central hall to get to the exit of the garden, and when they had gotten out of the confines of the structure, they broke into a run for the beach. Halfway through, the run turned into a chase, with Seifer the pursuer and Squall the target. They were both laughing maniacally on their way there, and although Squall almost made it to the beach before Seifer, the blonde put on a final burst of speed, grabbing onto Squall's shoulders before he reached the sand. Squall stumbled at the added weight, and crashed face first into the sand, with Seifer lying across his back. Squall spat out the sand that had gotten into his mouth, and brushed out whatever had gotten into his hair, while Seifer, giggling uncontrollably, sat up to allow Squall the chance to turn over so that his relaxing position wouldn't have him lying with his face in the sand. They both collapsed, again with Seifer's head lying on Squall's stomach, just enjoying the beach and the solitude.   
"Seifer?"  
"Yes, Squall?"  
"You still never answered my question yesterday." Seifer cringed at the mention of the question to which he had no answer.  
"I truthfully don't know. I probably never will It will probably haunt me to my grave." Squall sighed. Seifer could be so melodramatic sometimes.  
"But, even if you don't know for sure, then why me? We hated each other with a fiery passion, and now it's almost the exact opposite."  
"I don't know, Squall. It feels right. And you're not complaining, are you." He certainly wasn't. Squall felt more alive now then he had ever felt in his life, and he wasn't about to give it up." They sat there in silence for a long while, the crash of the waves against the beach lulling them into a total relaxation, and finally, a sleep.  
When they awoke with a start an hour and a half later, they both got up quickly and checked the time.  
"Damn! We've missed role call! And breakfast!" Seifer yelled out. "This isn't the way to get a promotion!" Squall shared Seifer's sentiments, but he didn't present them. They both rushed back to Garden, but found that, when they got their, they weren't being allowed in.  
"Why the hell not!" Seifer shouted.  
"Our orders are to keep you here. Someone has been looking for you."  
"Do you know who?" Squall said.  
"I'm not at liberty to say," the gate guard responded. Squall swallowed hard, and looked at Seifer. All they could do now was wait...  
  



	4. Chapter 4: No More

Squall and Seifer sat across from each other, just outside the garden gate. The gate guard's face was like stone, no matter how many attempts Squall made to read something from it. They sat in silence for ten long minutes, wondering who was looking for them. All the while, Seifer squinted through the gate, trying to catch sight of anyone at a distance. He gulped, and Squall looked up. At the far end of the courtyard, they could see the solemn, robe-clad guards accompanying Headmaster Cid, and Quistis following on their heels. Squall shifted uncomfortably, and finally Cid got to the gate. He too had a solemn look on his face, and Squall felt as if he could cut the tension with his gunblade. The guards stepped aside, the gate opened, and Cid strode through.  
  
"A good morning to you both."  
  
"Sir," Squall and Seifer said simultaneously.  
  
"You were absent from role call, this morning, and I'm sure you're pretty hungry as well."  
  
"Sorry sir, we-" Seifer began, but Cid lifted his hand, cutting him off.  
  
"I don't know where you went, but my only hope is that you did something worthwhile with your time."  
  
Squall stood.  
  
"Permission to speak, sir."  
  
"Dispense with the formalities, Squall."  
  
"I...we went down to the beach to train."  
  
Seifer swallowed, noticing the conspicuous lack of gunblades with each of them. Cid noticed it too.  
  
"Without your gunblades?"  
  
"We can't always have them, sir. I don't want to be helpless without it."  
  
Finally, Cid's expression broke into a smile. Seifer let out a barely audible sigh of relief.  
  
"That's the spirit, boys. If only we had more trainees like you two, we could beat any Garden."  
  
He reached into his pocket and withdrew some passes.  
  
"Here. These will get you into the cafeteria for some breakfast, and these will get you into the Fire Cave. I think it's about time you both got opportunities."  
  
He turned and walked off, and Quistis winked at them before she turned as well, walking back towards the garden. Seifer grinned at Squall, and they went to the cafeteria.  
  
*****************  
  
Coffee in hand, breakfast burrito in the other, Squall made his way back to the table where Seifer was working furiously on a stack of pancakes. They ate in silence, except for the occasional loud slurp coming from Squall, who refused to wait for his coffee to cool down. They split up afterwards, heading to their dorms to get ready.  
  
Back in his dorm, Squall narrowly avoided having to explain everything to Zell. Zell's eyes questioned several times, but Squall avoided his gaze. He took a long shower, dressed, and grabbed his Gunblade. As he walked out into the hall, he saw Seifer making some last minute adjustments to his hair with a pocket mirror. Squall snuck up behind him and ruffled his hair.  
  
"You bastard," Seifer said, annoyed.  
  
"Do you think Ifrit's gonna care if your hair looks good?"  
  
"Would you care?"  
  
"Yes, but that's me. Of course, if I was an elemental beast, I might see things a little differently."  
  
"Aw, hell. Let's just go."  
  
Seifer grabbed his gunblade, which was leaning against the railing, and they walked towards the gate. The guard nodded, barely, as he opened it. They headed through into the open fields, and headed towards the Fire cavern.  
  
The hike took them about half an hour, and they did it mostly in silence, except for the occasional shared joke. They arrived at the Fire Cavern, and were greeted by the solemn guards, spears crossed over the entrance.  
  
"YOU CAN'T PASS," one of them said in a monotonous voice.  
  
"We have permission from Headmaster Cid," Squall said calmly.  
  
He withdrew his pass from his pocket, and Seifer did the same. The two guards uncrossed their spears and Squall and Seifer both held their gunblades at ready, and entered the cavern. Almost as soon as they did, two fire creatures attacked them. Seifer ducked and swung his gunblade around, batting one creature into the other, causing them both to detonate. The blast knocked a bit of shrapnel around, and after dusting themselves off, they continued on. The cavern radiated with heat, and finally it got so bad that Seifer removed his trenchcoat and threw it over his shoulder. Squall did the same, tying his jacket around his waist.  
  
Something flew past them, and they almost ignored it because of the breeze it created, but Squall turned around just as the creature was bringing it's gnarled beak towards his neck. He brought up his gunblade, swatting the bird aside. The creature tried to pull up, but crashed haphazardly into the stone ground. Squall kicked the carcass aside, and they walked on, soon reaching the end of the cavern.  
  
"What are we supposed to do now?" Seifer asked.  
  
Squall was thinking it over as the lava around the path bubbled. They heard a splash, and two long horns, followed by a lion-like head and a monstrous body emerged.  
  
"WHO DARES DISTURB MY SLUMBER?" Ifrit boomed.  
  
Squall and Seifer both held their gunblades at ready. Seifer winked at Squall out of the corner of his eye, and rushed forward. He swung his gunblade up, but Ifrit simply swatted it aside. Squall gulped. Seifer, temporarily stunned from the shock, didn't notice Ifrit's other hand coming back at him. Squall ran, knocked Seifer down, and took the hit. The giant hand knocked him across the room into a pillar of stone. Seifer screamed in pain; he had cut his leg on a sharp rock when Squall had knocked him down. Ifrit surveyed his challengers - one slumped against a pillar, and one incapacitated - and submerged himself underneath the lava. Squall came quickly to his senses, picked up his gunblade and walked over to Seifer. He could see that Ifrit was gone, and kicked a rock into the lava in anger.  
  
"Dammit! We could've had him. Now we have to wait another three months to test for it."  
  
He stooped over and helped Seifer to his feet, grabbing his gunblade as well. Seifer tried to walk on his leg, but couldn't, and Squall threw his arm over Seifer's shoulder and they walked back to the entrance of the cavern. He couldn't see the expression on his face, but Squall was sure that Seifer was just as upset about the whole thing as he was. It was supposed to be their big opportunity, and they had failed so miserably. As they came out of the cave, one of the guards radioed in, and shortly, a car arrived. Quistis and one of the younger nurses got out, and immediately began bandaging Seifer's wound. Squall collapsed into the car, and the nurse helped Seifer into the opposite end.  
  
The ride back was completely silent, despite Quistis' attempts to break the tension. Squall and Seifer barely acknowledged each other's presense. When they arrived at the Garden, the nurse helped Seifer to the medical center. Squall tried to help as well, but Seifer threw his hand aside, as Quistis looked on.  
  
"Squall, are you okay?" she pried.  
  
"Fine. Just fine," Squall replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He walked towards his dorm without a look back. 


	5. Chapter 5: Kill to Love

Author's Notes: This is it. The chapter ends just as the opening cutscene of the game begins, the epic fight between Squall and Seifer set to Liberi Fatali. I think I stole a line from Slipknot, but since I've never actually heard more than 2 of their songs, I plead ignorance. As always, all characters belong to Square, I'm trying really hard to keep this from becoming smut, and please read and review. Thanks.  
  
  
"Zell, lay off it."  
Squall shouted at his roommate, but the stubborn Zell didn't listen. Always inquisitive, always concerned, he pried further as to what was eating Squall Leonhart.   
"Squall, there's something wrong, and as your roommate, I deserve to know. It's the least you can do."  
Squall didn't bother responding, instead drawing himself inwardly. Zell finally gave up.  
"I'm gonna grab a shower before dinner; if you decide anything before then, tell me."  
Zell turned and walked into the bathroom, taking his shirt off and tossing it on his bed. He was well built, and his extensive martial arts training didn't hurt any. Squall sat on his bed, staring into space, and almost blocked out everything Zell said-except the last part. Squall heard a little yell from the bathroom, as Zell had jumped into the shower without checking the water temperature. He bit back his apprehension, and got up, treading slowly to the bathroom. He could see Zell's silhouette through the shower curtain, and slowly opened it. Zell didn't notice it at first, but he saw Squall out of the corner of his eye, and quickly pulled the curtain shut. Inwardly, Squall cursed. He hadn't expected anything from Zell, but just the same, it was disappointing. Not only because he had been refused, but because he didn't feel the same. It was nothing like the time him and Seifer spent together-the few fleeting moments between classes, before school "training" sessions, and any other time alone. Finally, Zell peeked his head out from behind the shower curtain, and nodded.  
"I should've known. Who with?"  
"Seifer."  
"Well how about that...Give me a minute, and we can talk."  
Squall left the bathroom, and Zell dried himself off, tying a towel around his waist. He walked out of the bathroom, and sat down on the corner of Squall's bed.   
"I...I don't know. I think maybe Quistis knew, but that's about it. I just wasn't sure how people would react... I mean, Seifer and I have been rivals since as long as anyone can remember. No one would've expected it, and to be honest, I didn't either when he...approached me," he said, referring to the strange diversion Seifer had created during a training session.   
"Well, you certainly shocked me. But, only Seifer?"  
"You always hurt the ones you love. I guess we'd been hurting each other for too long-there had to be a flipside. And yes, only Seifer. So don't worry," Squall added, with a sheepish grin.  
"No big deal. We're in mercenary school, so it's almost a given. So, what. You two had a fight?"  
Squall winced at the words, and Zell caught on, apologizing.  
"It's nothing serious, just our first lover's quarrel."  
"But you do feel better now?"  
"Yes. And if you rub it in, I'll slap you."  
Zell raised his eyebrows.  
"So why don't you go and talk to him?"  
"It's because he won't let me. I tried, but he's still pissed. Perfectionist that he is, he thinks that my attempt to save his life cost him an early chance at becoming a SeeD."  
"And it wasn't any consolation that you lost that same chance?" asked Zell cynically.  
"No. I love him, but he's such an egomaniac sometimes."  
"Try all the time. Just try to imagine if he didn't exist, which I'm sure he does about you sometimes."  
"I know," Squall said, pleadingly, "But it's so hard. Do you know what it's like?"  
"Probably not. Listen, just try to talk to him between now and the field exam, and it'll probably do you some good. Set a deadline, and if you can't bring yourself to break the silence by then, then it probably was never meant to be...or something."  
"Okay. Listen, thanks a lot, Zell."  
Zell stood up, and held his arms open.  
"It's what friends are for."  
Squall met the embrace, and as he pulled away, dislodged Zell's towel. Squall quickly spun around, apologizing, as Zell giggled like a maniac and got dressed.  
  
The next fire trial was fast approaching, and Squall was horribly out of practice. The week before, he spent most of his free time in the training center, barely surviving an encounter with the T-Rex on several occasions, and on others, laying waste to a couple of overgrown insects. He distinctly remembered quite how challenging it would be to defeat Ifrit, as his memories of the way the fire elemental had tossed him and Seifer around like rag dolls were even painful. Finally, he took Zell to the training center and learned a few basic hand to hand moves from his friend. He wasn't anywhere near as good without his gunblade, however, and the number of times Zell defeated him was almost embarrassing. He needed someone else to train with, to hone his gunblade skills. Squall had mostly avoided Seifer, despite the way Zell pushed him.   
Finally, one lunch block, Squall bit back his pride, and approached Seifer. Across the cafeteria, Seifer sat with Raiden and Fujin, discussing some techniques. They quieted as Squall approached, and Seifer turned around. He saw that it was Squall, and quickly turned back, trying to engage Fujin in conversation before Squall arrived. It was too late, however, and Squall slid into an empty chair, looking directly at Seifer.  
The tension grew as neither of them spoke, only staring at each other. It only helped that neither of Seifer's comrades uttered a sound. Finally, Seifer broke the silence.  
"Whatever the question is, my answer is no."  
"Will you at least hear my question first?"  
Seifer shrugged, planning on sticking to his words.  
"I just want to practice with you, before the next trip to the Fire Cave."  
"I'm not going with you again. I can't wait another three months, and if I have to because of you, I won't hesitate in attacking you."  
"That doesn't matter. I'm going with Instructor Trepe instead. I just want to get in a training session. Mano a mano, gunblade on gunblade. Just once. And maybe..."  
"Maybe what? If there's any maybes, I won't bother. Just to train."  
"All right. Tomorrow morning, before role call," Squall suggested, remembering that time as the time they would always spend together. Evidently it stirred something in Seifer too, as he winced ever so slightly, and then nodded. Squall walked back across the cafeteria, outwardly as calm as ever. Inwardly, however, he was a mess, wondering if he was doing the right thing, wondering what else might happen tomorrow morning. He sat back down across from Zell, winked at him, and pushed it out of his mind.  
  
Squall awoke the next morning to see Seifer leaning against the doorway. He had risen much earlier, Squall noted, because his outfit was perfect and his hair even more so.  
"Hurry up," Seifer said, a note of contempt in his voice. Squall almost didn't catch it and hurried to dress, not bothering with the same formalities as Seifer had.  
They walked to the beach in silence, a silence only broken by the wash of the waves on the sand. A bit of a wind kicked up, and blew sand into the nearby grass. It stirred many memories in Squall, and he turned, blinking away the beginnings of a tear.  
"Just a session. Nothing else."  
Squall nodded, and held his gunblade at the ready. Seifer charged in with a vicious overhead attack, and Squall staggered in blocking it. He rolled aside as Seifer followed through, and swung his blade up, cutting only air but setting Seifer off balance. Seifer fell into the sand and rolled back over, lunging forward with the tip of his blade. Squall parried it and jumped back. He swung his blade horizontally at Seifer, an attack which was blocked by a backhand move by Seifer. He brought his blade back around and swung it  
down again, narrowly missing Squall's head. They both jumped back, and stopped, out of breath.  
"Good match," Seifer gasped. Squall nodded. Seifer picked himself up and walked down to the water. He splashed a bit of the saline liquid on his face and wiped it off. Squall took off his jacket as Seifer returned.  
"I still...Seifer. I love you."  
Seifer acted as if he hadn't heard Squall, and picked up his gunblade. Squall stood up, and held his own in position. Seifer began with a vicious series of attacks that threw Squall off balance, and it was only with a brutal counterattack that he managed to reverse the tides. Seifer jumped back, a wicked smile on his face.  
"I do tool And I would kill you to love you."  
As he spoke, a red hot fire began to form in his hand. Squall ignored it, preoccupied with Seifer's words.   
The ball of fire barely missed him, singing a few hairs and catching him completely off guard. With the same wicked smile etched on his face, Seifer brought his gunblade down. It was only the tip of the blade that made contact, but it was enough. Blood poured, coating Squall's face. It was at that point that he understood.  
"Then I will too."  
Squall let out a yell and brought his own blade up, cutting Seifer with a mirrored strike. Seifer staggered, and he did as well. They both collapsed, falling on their knees and into each other's arms. 


End file.
